Boasting a formidable line-up with young blood and a wealth of talent, India A, however, came up woefully short in all departments against West India A in the second unofficial one-dayer, on Tuesday.
With the series level and all to play for in the decider, Yuvraj Singh and his men will look to tide over the setback and clinch the series in the third and final encounter at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium on Thursday.
With the selectors keeping a hawk-eye on their show, individual brilliance is the call on the day for many in the side as they attempt to give the door to the main squad a hard knock with stellar performances.
If the Lalchand Rajput-coached side decides to go in with the opening pair of Unmukt Chand and Robin Uthappa, the duo will have to pull themselves up and rise to the occasion. For one, both of them have failed to turn in decent numbers with the bat and have also struggled to negate the West Indies A pacers.
Unmukt, in particular, looked clueless in the second match, especially against raw pace of Miguel Cummins and Co. Bengaluru lad Uthappa, has fallen off the radar after a good show against the Kiwis and will need to fire away if he entertains hopes of a recall to the national side.
Meanwhile, with 181 runs from two outings, Yuvraj is in a zone and will certainly look to wade in that for a while. But the same cannot be said about the explosive Yusuf Pathan, who following his blistering 70, departed for first ball duck. Inconsistency has always been a stumbling block in the 30-year-old’s career and it’s a factor he will have to work with urgency if he has the bigger picture in mind.
Another worrying factor for the home side is the bowling department, which at best, has been mediocre. R. Vinay Kumar, who came in as a last minute replacement for Irfan Pathan did turn in a three-wicket haul performance, but then, the Davanagere pacer went for plenty in an erratic finish.
The India ‘A’ fielders also have been sloppy and contributed majorly to their disastrous show the previous day.
On the other hand, Kieran Powell’s men, who looked out of sorts in the opening encounter, were emboldened enough to tame the tigers in their den, on the back of Jonathan Carter’s splendid hundred. Having gone back to the drawing board after a morale-sapping defeat in the opening tie they have proved that they are no pushovers.
With the September 30 selection committee meeting round the corner, this encounter will be the last chance for the players to prove their worth.
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